Myhre Fit To Be Officer Rozier Trial Experts Clash

February 10, 1989|By Kirsten Gallagher of The Sentinel Staff

An Orlando police officer who shot and killed a fleeing armed-robbery suspect should not have been hired by the city because he had immature, impulsive and hyperactive tendencies, a clinical psychologist testified Thursday in federal court.

But another psychologist who tested Curt Myhre testified Thursday that the officer was qualified to be hired despite his behavioral traits and a marijuana binge several months before he became a police officer.

Three years ago, Myhre shot Keith Rozier in the back after a chase through a west Orlando apartment complex. Myhre, 31, was cleared in the shooting. But Rozier's mother, Brenda, filed a civil rights suit that seeks compensatory damages against Myhre and the city.

Mrs. Rozier contends that Myhre used undue force against her 21-year-old son, who was unarmed. She also contends the department should not have hired Myhre in the first place.

The city and Myhre claim that under the city's and the state's fleeing-felon policies, the officer was justified in shooting Rozier, who appeared to be a dangerous suspect.

Myhre shot Rozier, who is black, when he resisted arrest after a man identified him as one of three people who had robbed him at gunpoint. The man's story later was found to be untrue.

The shooting incited anger among Orlando's blacks and led the city to make its fleeing-felon policy more restrictive.

Dr. Glenn Caddy, who helps South Florida law enforcement agencies screen officer candidates, testified that people with Myhre's characteristics are more likely to make poor judgments under stress and to act without thinking.

''This person should not have met the standard of hiring,'' Caddy said. Having been hired, he said, such an officer would need ''close supervision with a more senior officer.''

Myhre's use of marijuana was not alarming, he said. But it was worrisome that the officer indulged in the drug over a short period for ''self-medication'' after he lost a job in sales, Caddy said.

Caddy said his Fort Lauderdale company, Academy of Medicine and Psychology, helps screen officer candidates in South Florida, including those applying to the Broward County Sheriff's Department. Mrs. Rozier's attorneys paid Caddy $200 an hour for his research and testimony.

Dr. Michael Roberts, the California psychologist who screened Myhre when he applied for police work in June 1983, stated in a deposition read in court that he gave Myhre a C-plus rating for tests that evaluated his emotional, psychological and intellectual state.

Seventy percent of people with C's make good police officers, and the remaining 30 percent may require some remedial training, said Roberts, whose company evaluates about 4,000 officer candidates a year around the country. He said he had no problem recommending C candidates, as long as they were monitored for some time and met other hiring standards.

Former Orlando Police Chief William Koleszar stated in a deposition read in court Wednesday that he and his staff reviewed Myhre's credentials and felt he would make a successful officer.

''I didn't find anything that was a red flag,'' Koleszar said.

Bud Eubanks, the city's attorney, highlighted Myhre's good recommendations from his previous employers. One of his supervisors on a U.S. Navy nuclear aircraft carrier said Myhre performed well ''in a stressful environment.''